Govt Hopes Of Non-Timor APEC Dashed

Any hopes by the New Zealand Government
that East Timor will not overshadow APEC look to be dashed
this morning. US President Bill Clinton issued a press
conference at the White House a short time ago protesting
that Indonesia “must” ask the international community to aid
it in bringing about peace in East Timor.

President
Clinton said issues surrounding the East Timor crisis “will”
play a large part in the schedules of countries gathered in
Auckland for the leader’s summit APEC meeting.

President
Clinton said: “If Indonesia cannot end the violence [in East
Timor] then it must ask the international community to help
bring about peace.”

Other issues high on the USA’s agenda
will be bilateral talks between President Clinton and the
Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Speaking in Canberra,
President Jiang Zemin, says WTO would be on the agenda of
his summit with "my old friend" President Bill Clinton when
the two meet in Auckland. The main WTO discussions would
be held between US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky
and China's Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng and chief
negotiator Long Yongtu. Negotiations between the two
countries were put on hold after Nato's bombing of the
Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May.

For more on the
US/Chinese bilateral meetings see Scoop columnist John
Howard’s report
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL9909/S00068.htm

Meanwhile
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Alatas has issued
his support for the United Nations to re-enter East Timor as
observers.

The observers mission will be allowed back into
East Timor on Saturday. In a statement Ali Alatas has blamed
rogue elements in the Indonesian military for the chaos in
East Timor and says that authorities are now regaining
control.

CNN is reporting that the "violence appears to
be burning itself out" in Dili and quotes a spokeswoman for
President Habibie explaining recent events in Jakarta on a
nationalist backlash at perceived Western interference.

Meanwhile New Zealand political friction continues with
disunity of the East Timor crisis. The Government has been
determined to avoid fallout between APEC countries while in
Auckland for the leader’s summit meetings.

Foreign affairs
minister Don McKinnon has been working to forge consensus
between the Asian and western factions of APEC countries. He
managed to gather all nations currently in Auckland for APEC
to attend yesterday’s special meeting called to discuss ways
to stop the killings inside East Timor.

And the National
Party issued a statement from its chief whip’s office
showing its preoccupation with achieving a peaceful
settlement through diplomatic means.

Gerry Browlee said:
“I am deeply concerned about the travesties of justice and
crimes against humanity that are taking place in East
Timor,” said Mr Brownlee. “New Zealand needs to be cautious
but firm in approach to this problem.

“Those who are
calling for urgent intervention need to realise that if
either New Zealand or Australia were to set foot on East
Timorese soil with armed soldiers, then that would be
considered an act of aggression and we would be effectively
at war with a country that has a standing army of 450,000
men, all well-armed, and a well resourced air force and navy
on top of that, and a capacity to mobilise up to 5 million
reservists at very short notice. “Our Defence personnel
number in total 4,000 people. Clearly, we are not in a
position to get into this type of action. I applaud Mrs
Shipley for her efforts at seeking some diplomatic solution
to this appalling problem,” Mr Brownlee said.

But
opposition parties are fervently opposed to the National
Government’s softly “see what happens” approach.

Labour
leader Helen Clark said this morning: “The New Zealand
Government’s position is morally repugnant. All week it has
stood by and insisted that the Indonesian Government is
doing its best to bring the situation under control. That is
ridiculous.

“The Prime Minister’s only interest in East
Timor this week has been to get it off the agenda of her
summit. She repeats this morning that she wants to get on
with the medium-term issues of raising Asian countries out
of poverty.

“It is not poverty that is being talked about
in East Timor: it is genocide and ethnic cleansing,” Ms
Clark said.

“Frankly discussing tariffs
on shoes, lamb, and rice seems irrelevant to most people
while news of this crisis grips not only the region but the
world.

“Urgent consideration must now be given to
economic measures designed to bring the Indonesian regime to
its senses. There can now be no certainty that Indonesia’s
parliament will uphold the East Timorese people’s choice. If
Indonesian chooses to become a pariah nation then it is not
fit to receive the continuing flow of western funds it needs
to stay afloat,” Helen Clark said.

Meanwhile the Pentagon
has suspended official relations with Indonesia's military
in protest at recent events in East Timor.

US Joint Chief
of Staff Gen. Henry H. Shelton stated this morning that the
US no longer rules out military involvement in bringing
about peace in East Timor.. He said it was possible the US
could offer logistical and communications support to any
peacekeeping force that might operate in the area.

President Bill Clinton also said this morning from the
White House that any UN ground troop involvement in East
Timor would largely be made up of troops from countries
within the region – ie: Australia, New Zealand and an Asian
presence.

Britain has a Naval ship, the HMS Glasgow
steaming for East Timor. And an Australasian contingent is
already gathering in Darwin in Australia’s Northern
Territory.

British foreign minister, Robin Cook, said
yesterday that his government is discussing what ground
force commitment it could muster should a UN peacekeeping
force be employed to East
Timor.

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